Broncos bosses deliver Anthony Seibold verdict amid form slump
Broncos legend and board member Darren Lockyer admits he is personally hurt by the turmoil engulfing the club, which is battling the worst slump in its 32-year history.
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Broncos chairman Karl Morris says Anthony Seibold’s performance as head coach will be reviewed at the end of the season following Tuesday’s annual general meeting.
Morris says the Broncos board is backing Seibold until the end of the 2020 season, but revealed every Brisbane employee, including the besieged coach, will undergo a performance review at the conclusion of this year’s campaign.
Morris could not guarantee Seibold will be coach in 2021.
With 10 rounds left in the shortened 2020 NRL season, Seibold effectively has two-and-a-half months to save his Broncos career.
Morris’ stance came as Broncos shareholder Chris Johns labelled the AGM “pathetic”, claiming key stakeholders were not given a chance to provide constructive criticism.
The Broncos are stuck in one of the worst slumps of the club’s 32-year history, with seven losses from their past eight games thrusting the spotlight on Seibold’s future.
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The depleted Broncos face the daunting prospect of hosting NRL premiership powerhouse Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
Despite the Broncos being anchored in the bottom four, Morris and CEO Paul White have thrown their support behind the coach they appointed to a five-year contract after he had only served one season in the NRL (South Sydney, 2018).
Morris reiterated to shareholders Seibold’s contract did not contain performance clauses, meaning the Broncos are facing a multimillion-dollar payout to sack him with three years remaining.
“Anthony Seibold is our coach and will be until the end of the season,” Morris said.
“Everyone at the club has a performance review and Anthony is an employee of the Broncos and will have a review like everyone else.
“He has got a long-term contract at the Broncos so we will wait until the end of the season.”
Broncos legend and board member Darren Lockyer said he was losing sleep at night about the club’s form crisis after he left the AGM at Red Hill.
The AGM detailed a strong financial position for the Broncos, which included an operating profit of $4.5 million between January and December last year. There were questions from shareholders about the club’s position in 14th place and the future of coach Anthony Seibold.
Lockyer, who won four premierships in his Broncos career, said he was also personally hurt by the situation the club found itself in.
“You lose sleep at night,” Lockyer said.
“It hurts but it is the reality and we’ve got to find a way to fix it.
“The AGM is about the financial performance of the company but there is always a lot of questions around the team’s performance and the club’s performance.
“This year with the results there was a lot of focus on the club and the team’s performance.”
Morris and White dodged a grilling from disgruntled shareholders with COVID-19 restrictions meaning the meeting was held online, with Broncos powerbrokers answering questions submitted via email.
In the presentation notes, obtained by News Corp Australia, the Broncos made three key messages surrounding the struggling football team:
— “We are not in a rebuilding phase.”
— “We remain in the market to strengthen our roster and to develop the football operations.”
— “It is currently a challenging environment which requires constant strategic pivoting.”
Johns claimed some questions emailed through were “cherry-picked” by Morris and White.
“The AGM was pathetic, it was a facade,” he said.
“As shareholders, we didn’t even have a proper forum in which to grill Karl Morris and Paul White on the real issues at the club.
“There was an opportunity to type in your questions, but the questions were cherry-picked and they only answered the questions they wanted to answer.
“The questions that were a bit curly, they just summarised the question and answered how they wanted to.
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“One of the questions came from one of the Broncos’ first accountants who had 10 years at the club, so he’s not an idiot.
“Their answers were waffle.”
Meanwhile, White told shareholders the club would not be entering a bidding war for off-contract superstar David Fifita, who has fielded a $1.25 million offer to join the Gold Coast Titans for 2021.
However, White was bullish about the Broncos’ chances of retaining Fifita.
The Broncos believe changes to the NRL cost structure from next year will be an advantage for the team given the club’s focus on developing players rather than recruiting.
Morris also confirmed White would depart the club at season’s end and a new CEO would be appointed within the next two months.
Originally published as Broncos bosses deliver Anthony Seibold verdict amid form slump
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